Acts 9:26-31 / 1 John 3:18-24 / John 15:1-8
That are a few occasions in life that stir up the emotions. And with emotions being stirred up, memories are created and we will remember those times when there were tears of joy and tears of sadness.
One of the occasions is pregnancy and childbirth. For the parents and family, it is certainly tears of joy, although for the baby it is difficult to say.
Another occasion is marriage and it is certainly a happy and memorable moment for the bride and groom.
Another occasion would be the passing on of a person, or putting it bluntly, when death takes a person away from our midst.
The certainty of death is a reality that we must accept, and the passing on of a loved one is undoubtedly an emotional occasion.
Death is the stark reality and finality of life on this earth. Death can leave behind a heartache that no one can heal, but love leaves a memory that no one can steal.
And it is only with love and faith that we believe in an afterlife, an eternal life with God in heaven, a life of eternal peace, joy and rest.
Come to think of it, that is and should be the life that we are looking forward to, isn't it?
And the Bible reminds us that “our true home is in heaven, and Jesus Christ whose return we long for, will come from Heaven to save us” (Philippians 3:20)
So, faith tells us that our true home is in heaven, and not on this earth. And Jesus our Saviour has prepared a room for each of us in our eternal home.
The Resurrection of Jesus tells us that He has conquered death and won for us eternal life.
So, death is our final journey to our eternal life, and when we understand that, then death is truly a joyous occasion, (although we won't say that we will be so happy to die).
Although our eternal home is in heaven, there is a home for us here on Earth. But it is not a physical or material home, with an address or postal code, and all the usual things that we think about when we talk about a home.
In the gospel, Jesus says this: Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
If our life on earth is a preparation for the eternal life with God, then we have to understand what Jesus meant by making our home in Him, as He makes His home in us.
In short, it means that our hearts are to be like a home to welcome Jesus, and that no matter what we have or how far we go, we will always stay in the Heart of Jesus.
It also means that our hearts are dedicated totally to Jesus as His dwelling-place, and not cluttered with the things of this world.
But in life, we tend to collect quite a bit of possessions as we move from one stage of life to another.
Let us listen to a reflection from a senior lady as she is about move to what is possibly her last location in life on earth.
I'm going to a nursing home. I have to. When life gets to where you are no longer able to take care of yourself completely, and your children are busy at work and have to take care of their children and have no time to take care of you, this seems to be the only way to go.
The nursing home is in good condition, with clean single rooms, and the environment is also good, but the price is not cheap.
My pension is poorly able to support this. But I have my own house. If I sell it, then money is not a problem. I can spend it on retirement. So now I have to prepare to go to a nursing home.
But there are boxes, bags, cabinets, and drawers that are filled with all kinds of things. I like to collect. I have collected a lot of stamps. I have also hundreds of purple clay tea pots. There are many other small collections. I am especially fond of books. The bookshelves on the wall are full.
There are also dozens of bottles of good wine. There are full sets of household appliances and the kitchen is also full. There are also dozens and dozens of photo albums. Looking at the house full of things, I'm worried!
The nursing home has only one room with a cabinet, a table, a bed, a sofa, a refrigerator, a TV and an oven - all the things I will really need. There is no place to store the possessions that I have accumulated throughout my life.
At this moment, I suddenly feel that my so-called possessions are superfluous, and it doesn't belong to me. I just take a look at it, play with it, use it, but I can't take them.
I only kept a set of pots and pans, a few books that are worth reading; a handful of teapots for tea, my ID card, senior citizen card, health insurance card and of course a bank card. Enough for me!
Yes, in life, you can only sleep in one bed and live in one room. Any more of it is merely for watching and playing! We really don’t need much.
Life is not about the things we clutter our lives with, but the memories we fill up in our hearts, fond memories shared with others.
May the Lord grant us wisdom of heart to know the shortness of life and that all things shall pass, and what we leave behind are sweet memories of life and love.
May we also remember that our home on earth is none other than in the Heart of Jesus and that He will bring us to our eternal home in heaven.
May the memories of all those who have passed on give us hope that while we try to live life to the full on earth, the fullness of life is with God in heaven.